The story so far: As winter tightened its grip on northern India, a thick blanket of fog descended on several states in the last days of 2023 and first of 2024, creating challenging conditions for residents and travellers alike. Some places in the country’s north reported low temperatures and dense fog for the last week of December. According to weather reports in late December 2023, minimum temperatures in Punjab, Haryana, and the northern reaches of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh hovered around 6-9 degrees C. In New Delhi, south Rajasthan, and north Madhya Pradesh, some places recorded minimum temperatures in the range of 10-12 degrees C, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
In the same time, most of North India also experienced a dense fog that reduced visibility in many areas to as little as 50 metres for several days. Haryana, including Chandigarh, plus isolated pockets of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh reported fog with visibility reduced to under 200 metres.
